The air in Professor Jade's office was so sterile it practically scrubbed itself.

The walls were a cold gunmetal gray, absorbing the flat, shadowless light from the ceiling panels.

No decorations, no personal touches, just a sleek obsidian desk, a console humming with silent efficiency, and a single visitor's chair that looked like it was designed by a machine that hated spines.

Zaeryn stood before the desk, hands shoved in his pockets, projecting a lazy confidence he was nowhere near feeling in front of someone like her. He was already calculating the fastest way to get through whatever lecture was coming his way.

She moved from the console and settled into her command chair with the fluid grace of a predator, her skirt riding up just enough to reveal a tantalizing glimpse of voluptuous thigh.

"Explain yourself, Noctis," she said, her voice dripping with a syrupy sarcasm that made his skin prickle and, annoyingly, made something lower twitch.

She leaned back, tossing a stylus in the air and catching it without looking, her fingers moving with the lazy confidence of a cat batting at a mouse.

What went through Zaeryn's head, was how those fingers of hers looked capable of far more interesting things. "Disrupting my lecture on your first day? A bold move for the only man in the room. Feeling special yet?" she asked.

Zaeryn kept his posture relaxed. Not looking like a pushover, was his first and last line of defense. But damn, up close, she was a distraction all her own, curves that screamed for attention under that severe outfit.

"Not at all, Professor. Just trying to keep up. New guy, new rules. You know how it is."

Her eyes, the color of storm clouds, flicked up, unamused and glinting with a challenge that pinned him like a bug under a microscope. Yet there was a heat there, buried under the ice.

"I don't know how it is, Noctis. Men don't belong in this academy, let alone in my classroom. High Commander Lysara may have forced your admission, but I will not tolerate distractions." She leaned forward, her blouse straining against her full bust, voice a low, dangerous purr that sent an unwelcome thrill through him. "Do you understand how precarious your position is here? One wrong move, and I could make your life... difficult."

Zaeryn sighed dramatically, though he kept his expression light, eyes dipping briefly to the curve of her hips before snapping back. "I get it, Professor. I'm the walking, talking disruption. But I was genuinely trying to make friends. It's part of the… blending in process, right?"

Professor Jade's expression didn't change. Not a flicker of anger, not a hint of amusement. Just a profound, almost cosmic sense of being unimpressed. But her scent crisp, with an undercurrent of something floral and intoxicating wafted over as she shifted. "Your charm won't work here. Especially not on me."

Her lips curved in a smirk that was equal parts infuriating and inviting.

"Hey, I'm not here to cause trouble," he offered, stepping a fraction closer, testing. "Just trying to learn the ropes. Maybe you could cut me some slack? First day and all."

Jade barked a laugh, sharp and melodic, like a whip cracking with a velvet tip. "Slack? Oh, that's rich." She stood, circling the desk with a deliberate sway, her boots clicking like a teasing rhythm.

Now that she was closer, Zaeryn got a proper look, tall, curvy perfection, her bust balanced and heaving slightly with each breath, hips flaring in a way that made his mind wander to less academic pursuits.

She moved like a predator toying with prey, her uniform hugging a frame made for power... and pleasure.

"Let me make this clear, Noctis," she murmured, invading his space until he could feel the heat from her body.

Her breath brushed his ear, warm and taunting. "I don't care who vouched for you or what freak mutation lets you wield Vitae. Men are an evolutionary dead end. You're a glitch, and I don't like glitches in my system." Her fingers trailed the edge of the desk, inches from his arm.

It was all deliberate and electric.

She perched on the edge, steepling her fingers, posture thrusting her chest forward in a way that was pure torment. "I am interested in maintaining a high-level academic environment. You are currently a statistical deviation that is lowering the mean."

Zaeryn blinked, forcing his eyes up from the distracting view of her cleavage that she may, or may not have been deliberately flaunting in front of him. "A statistical deviation?"

"Precisely," she said, her tone clipped but laced with that smug allure. "Therefore, for your detention, you will write an essay."

He almost laughed. An essay? After all that buildup? He thought she was going to give him something hard or cruel.

"On what? The existential angst of being a statistical anomaly?" he couldn't help himself, and he just had to say that.

A flicker of something not quite a smile, but a shadow of wicked amusement touched her plump lips, making her look even more attractive… and even more annoying in her arrogance.

"I had something else in mind, but…" A slow, cruel grin spread across her face. "You've just given me a better idea. Five thousand words."

Zaern quickly changed his mind, she was evil after all. "What? Five thousand…"

"ten thousand," she cut him off without missing a beat, "for speaking back."

'This fucking bitch.' Zaeryn's jaw tightened. He knew better than to argue further, but the fire in her eyes made him want to push back... hard.

"Write ten thousand words," she continued, her voice radiating satisfaction. "Single-spaced. On the socio-academic consequences of introducing a male variable into a controlled educational environment. Cite at least ten pre-Scorch Fall sociological studies. You'll find a terminal over there."

She gestured vaguely to a corner without looking, crossing her legs in a move that hiked her skirt higher. At this point it was like she was trying to catch him staring at her. Which Zaeryn wasn't going to fall for.

"Don't expect to leave until it's done to my satisfaction." She said.

Zaeryn stared at her. This wasn't just detention; this was a meticulously crafted, academic 'screw you'. He let out a slow breath. Arguing was pointless.

'System,' he thought, a flicker of desperation sparking. 'Analyze her. What am I dealing with here?'

The familiar interface materialized in his vision, text scrolling with cool efficiency.

[ANALYZING TARGET: PROFESSOR JADE]

[VITAE TIER: UNKNOWN]

[PRIMARY EMOTIONAL STATE: PROFESSIONAL ANNOYANCE, LACED WITH SUPPRESSED CURIOSITY.]

[SECONDARY TRAITS: IMPATIENCE, DISDAIN FOR INEFFICIENCY, ACADEMIC PRIDE. HIDDEN ATTRACTION TO ANOMALIES.]

[THREAT ANALYSIS: Subject perceives Host not as a threat, but as a disruptive and inefficient variable, potentially rebellious. Her dislike is rooted in a perceived lack of intellectual discipline, not biological prejudice. Deep scan: Elevated heart rate suggests intrigue, perhaps arousal—at your Vitae signature.]

[RECOMMENDATION: Charm is partially effective if backed by competence. Sarcasm amplifies tension (positively). Engage with intellectual honesty and efficiency. Bond potential: High; push her boundaries to reveal vulnerability.]

'She's curious? And... aroused?' Zaeryn almost did a double-take. Her dislike wasn't hate—it was a mask for fascination with his "glitch" status. .

This was a game he could win, and the system's hint at bonding stirred his own Vitae, a warm pulse reminding him of how power flowed from intimacy.

A slow, predatory grin spread across Zaeryn's face. He finally understood. Striding to the terminal without a word, he sat and pulled up a blank document.

Drawing on the enhanced intellect from his bond with Daphne and Sage, their analytical minds surging through him like a erotic echo of their night together, he began to type.

He didn't write an apology. He wrote a sharp, clinical analysis: biases in matriarchal systems, stagnation in homogeneity, the "male variable" as a catalyst for growth. He cited pre-Scorch studies on gender dynamics in ancient societies, weaving in analogies to beast hierarchies for bite.

An hour later, he stood and placed the finished data-slate on her desk. "Done."

Professor Jade looked from the slate to him, one perfectly sculpted eyebrow raised in disbelief. "Ten thousand words? In an hour? I expect this to be utter nonsense."

She picked it up, eyes scanning. Seconds stretched. Her posture shifted—the rigid line softening, a subtle hint of shock crossing her face. She didn't expect him to actually succeed.

She didn't look up, but he caught the way her thighs pressed together, as if fighting something.

Finally, she set it down. Her storm-cloud eyes met his cold dismissal cracked by genuine curiosity and a spark of heat. "This is… how did you do this?"

Zaeryn grinned. "Impressive right?"

"No-no…." She didn't want to admit it, but her reaction already told Zaeryn everything he wanted to know. He had impressed her. He would say he had her humble.

"This will suffice." she said, the word grudging but laced with respect. "You argued your points with a surprising degree of logic for someone like you."

She stood, circling to stand inches from him, her scent enveloping him. "You're still a disruption, Noctis," she murmured, voice retaining its edge but dropping husky. "But perhaps not an entirely uninteresting one."

Her fingers brushed his as she handed back the slate, lingering a beat too long. "Alright, you passed. Now get out of my office."

She turned her back, but not before he caught the quick glance over her shoulder, eyes flickering with challenge... and invitation.

Zaeryn turned and walked out.

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